Smmcdonald
United States
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Nº156
Date: 2021-04-22 - 09:30
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Max Depth: 14.9m Duration: 48mins
Dive Location
- Temp: Surf 27°C Bottom 24°C
- Dive type : Recreational
- Visibility: Average Water: Salt
Specific gear used
- BCD: Scubapro - Nighthawk
- Camera: GoPro - Hero 6
- Computer: Shearwater - Perdix AI
- Fins: Scubapro - Twin Jet
- Mask: Genesis - Panview
- Regulator: Scubapro - AIR2
- Regulator: Scubapro - MK21/S560
- Weights: 2.7 kg
Dive reviews
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| Dive difficulty | ||
| Marine life quality | ||
| Wreck |
Dive Shop & Buddies
Dive with Quiescence Diving Services, Inc.
Dive buddies:
Jennifer McDonald,
Vince Knick,
Jenny Kearney,
Bryan Kearney,
Gary Miller
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Dive Profile
- 1. Nitrox 31
- 10L Aluminium 213 → 32 bar
- Average depth: 8.5m
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
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After Jenny and Bryan picked Jen and I up from MIA, we made our way to Homestead, FL for lunch. Unfortunately, my place-of-choice, the Everglades Gator Grill, was closed, so we ate at the nearby, locally-famous "Robert Is Here Fruit Stand". The website visitflorida.com touts the establishment as "the Disney World of Fruit Stands", and explains its origin:
Florida's most famous produce stand was started when Robert's dad, a farmer, set up a coffee table on the side of the road, loaded it with cucumbers, and erected a sign pointing in the direction of a small boy. "Robert Is Here", said the sign. The year was 1959. Robert was 7. In the 21st century, Robert is here still.
Along with exotic fruits mostly grown on local farms, birds in outdoor aviaries, tortoises and farm animals, Robert offers a huge variety of milkshakes and Cuban sandwiches for lunch. After having our fill of both and purchasing some produce, we made our way to the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center in the Everglades National Park. I needed to purchase my annual NPS pass and suggested we hike the nearby Anhinga Trail to soak in a bit of nature and stretch our legs before heading to Key Largo.
After arriving at Quiescence, we checked in and analyzed our Nitrox bottles. Gary and Vince arrived a bit later, and we all headed to Mrs. Mac's for dinner and Key lime pie.
Early Thursday morning, we headed out to my first dive of 2021: a visit to the Benwood Wreck. This was my first dive in the Keys since Hurricane Irma, and I noticed right-away that the site had changed significantly. Much of the coral on the wreck was broken and the bow seemed to be torn away a bit more than I recall. There were a lot of fish (grunts, snappers, porkfish, etc.), but not teeming with life as I remember. We saw two turtles while on the boat, but did not catch site of them or any others once underwater. One big change was the deeper dive profile: a large portion of sand has been removed near the bow, revealing the ship's anchor. My previous maximum depth on this dive was just over 43'; this time I registered nearly 49'! Another notable 'first' was siting two flamingo tongues! I've never seen one in the Keys before.
I dove with 6lbs of weight with a rash guard, swim trunks and neutral buoyancy 80cf aluminum tanks. This was plenty to get my under quick without needing air in my BCD to stabilize at depth.
This was also my first dive since getting sick in February, from which I am still experiencing symptoms including respiratory problems: I sometimes have difficulty with deep breaths and fatigue. I requested a few shallow easy dives today for this reason, and since Bryan and Jenny have not been diving in several years. My SAC rate was higher than usual, but I felt fine during the dive. And Jenny and Bryan did great!